Back To You
by RunningRandi
Summary: After having her fifth year end on an incredibly bad note; Lily just wants to forward. She soon finds that the more she pushes along, the further back she is pulled towards a certain someone. LE/JP, SB/MM, OTC. Rated M for future chapters!
1. An Unexpected Invitation

As the train pulled into the station, Lily began feeling nervous again. Her sister had barely said a word to her their parent's funeral a few months prior. She wondered if Petunia would continue her shunning considering she hadn't even replied to her letter about coming to King's Cross.

Lily felt a hand on her shoulder. "You alright?" questioned Marlene.

"Yeah, I suppose. It's just going to be an interesting summer, that's all."

Smiling back at her worried friend she laughed. "Don't fret, I'm only an owl away! Plus, you're still planning on staying with me when my family gets back from France, right?"

Lily loved how her best friend always tried to find something positive in bad situations.

"Thanks Marly, I'm sure you have will have an amazing time! I can't wait to hear about all of the trouble you got into."

Marlene winked back at her and started pulling their trunks down from the racks. Both girls made their way down to the platform. Upon seeing her parents, Marlene gave her friend a quick hug. "Have a good summer Lily! Keep your chin up, and I'll see you in a few weeks!" Lily waved back as she walked away. She glanced around for her sister, but there was still no sign of her. Perhaps she was running late? She had to remind herself that punctuality was something that Petunia and her new oaf of a husband were fanatical about. The whole situation just felt off.

"Hey Evans!"

Lily winced at the sound of his voice. She didn't have time to be dealing with his nonsense right now. James Potter left his parents and quickly made his way over to her.

"Would you like to grab a bite to eat with Sirius, my parents, and me? I thought I'd ask since it looks like your ride is running late. My parents wanted to see a few shops and get dinner afterwards."

Lily glanced over at his parents and were met with a smile. They seemed friendly enough, but she wasn't going to make a scene right now because of their berk of a son.

She replied flatly "Thanks for inviting me Potter, but my sister should be here any minute."

Lily noticed he started to get flushed. He kept looking at his shoes, so she deducted that he was either embarrassed or entranced by the new set of trainers he was wearing.

"That's ok. Listen, I know I'm probably the last person you'd write to, but if you need someone, I'm here for you."

James quickly ran a hand through his hair and met her gaze again. She hadn't seen this side of him in years wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. Lily was clearly at a confusing loss for words.

"Um, ok, yeah, maybe I will."

His eyes lit up like Christmas. "Get home safe and have a good summer Evans!" James and his family made their way out of the station.

Lily mused to herself over the strangeness of what just happened. "How odd." The two of them had had a pretty volatile year. Words had been yelled, objects had been thrown, and numerous hexes had been cast. How could a year full of negativity end on such a quiet plateau for the two of them? She figured things would just go back to the way they were once term started again. Deciding to wait outside, she rolled her cart down the sidewalk to a nearby bench. Maybe Petunia just didn't want to come inside the station and risk running into some of her "kind". Looking up from the book she thought she'd been reading for quite some time, she glanced at her watch. Thirty minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Petunia. She picked up her trunk again and made her way to the nearest payphone.

"Mrs. Potter, do we have to look in _**another **_shop, I'm staarrrvvvvinnnnnggg!" whined Sirius. James punched his friend in the arm.

"Mate, you ate a ton of food on the train, how are you still hungry?"

Before Sirius could reply with some sarcastic remark Mrs. Potter jumped in.

"Starving or not, I still have one more errand to run before we get dinner. You won't perish in the next twenty minutes now, will you?"

"I suppose not Mrs. P."

Heading in the direction of the last shop, she spotted the girl her son had spoken to earlier at the phone booth.

"Petunia, it is going to get dark in the next few minutes, it will take me like two hours to get home by foot! Why are you doing this to me, you're my sister?!"

The girl looked like she was on the verge of tears. Mrs. Potter didn't want to intrude on her conversation, but she felt terrible for the young lady whose sister apparently was abandoning her at the station. Dorea noticed the eagerness in her son's eyes to rush to the girl. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"James wait here."

She tapped the young lady on her shoulder. "Are you alright dear?"

Lily turned around with tears brimming her eyes. "Um, I supposed, just need to head on home."

"I hope you don't mind the intrusion miss -?"

"Evans. Lily Evans."

A smile crept up on Dorea's face. So this was the girl her son was so madly in love with. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting the famous Lily Evans. I've heard so many wonderful things about you! I'm James' mum by the way, Dorea Potter. That's my husband Charlus standing over by the boys which I'm assuming you both know already."

Turning red all Lily could muster was a small "Oh."

"I honestly wasn't trying to barge in on your conversation, but is your sister not coming to get you?"

Lily didn't want to lie to this woman who showed a sincere concern about her wellbeing, but she was so embarrassed over the whole thing.

"I don't think so…"

"There is no one else?"

"No, it's ok, I can always walk."

A look of surprise passed over Dorea's face. "Nonsense! My husband and I will take you home. We couldn't just leave a friend of James to walk home in the dark by herself!"

"Oh, that's very kind, but I don't want to intrude…"

"Intrude? Like I accidentally did when you were having words with you sister?" She chuckled. "My dear, if you were an intrusion then I wouldn't have invited you, now would I? Are you up for a spot of dinner? We have one last shop to visit before."

Lily could not believe how kind and just generally wonderful this woman was being. How could someone like this have such an arrogant bully for a son?

"Thank you so much, this really means a lot to me." A smile finally touched the corners of her mouth.

"Come let's shrink down this heavy trunk and we'll head over to the boys."

Lily walked with Dorea over to an alley where she quickly shrunk her belongings down to the size of a small wallet. As they approached the rest of the group, her nerves were setting in again. How was she supposed to get through a meal without Potter and her arguing? She couldn't very well be disrespect in front of his parents. She opted for minimal, polite conversation with him. Yes, that would be the safest thing.

"Charlus, we have a guest joining us and the boys for dinner. This is a friend of theirs, Lily Evans."

The first thing Lily noticed about him was that Charlus Potter was one of those people whose whole face lit up when he smiled. "_THE_ Lily Evans?! So you're the lovely lady our son never stops talking about!"

"DAD!" James flushed a shade of scarlet with a look of horror on his face.

Of course Sirius had to take this opportunity to further embarrass his best friend. "Prongs, don't get all flustered just because your dream girl is having dinner with us. It's like a chaperoned date. Ain't that right Evans?" he sniggered.

"You dolt!"

"So immature!"

The fact that both Lily and James yelled at the same time made him laugh even harder. Before the shouting match could continue, James' parents suggested they get a move on. As they proceeded down the sidewalk James elbowed Sirius in the ribs and muttered in a hushed tone. "You're a fowl git." Sirius merely shrugged his shoulders and walked ahead toward the rest of the group, whistling the whole way.

James was sure he was going to have a panic attack. Not only was he having dinner with Lily, but everyone had made him look like a stupid lovesick fool. Not that he wasn't, he just didn't like other people addressing it. How could anyone not be when it came to Lily? Her dark red hung wavy down the back of her black and white ¾ sleeve shirt. James would have been crazy if he said she looked bad in the cuffed up skinny jeans she was wearing. To him, Lily was a beautiful that most girls would have killed to achieve. She rarely ever wore makeup, and she never tried to over exaggerate herself with showy clothes. Lily was perfect to him. The sound of his mother's voice broke him from his trance.

"James, would you like to stay behind?" she laughed.

"Sorry, just got a bit distracted."

"Yeah I bet you did, maybe you should walk next to Evans, not behind her mate." Teased Sirius.

This was going to be a long evening for him. He could endure it though. James mentally made himself a list of what not to do tonight. "No flirting with her, no making jokes about her, don't talk about myself, don't make fun of her friends…" Basically he should probably just keep his mouth shut to keep himself from doing something stupid. It was hard though, he seemed to forget himself when he was around her. Tonight would have to be the first step.


	2. You Git

_**Hello everyone! Sorry it has taken FOREVER to get another chapter up! I promise I have plenty more on the way, it has been a little hectic with work right now. Early hours waking up and long hours worked in the OR. Sadly, the basics are owned by the brilliant J.K. Rowling. The details and storyline are purely mine though! Enjoy the chapter and please R&R! **_

After they finished up at the last store, they made their way over to the restaurant. Lily and Mrs. Potter sat on one side of the table with Sirius and James across and Mr. Potter at the head of the table.

"Finally, some food!" cheered Sirius as a basket of bread was placed on the table. The waitress took their orders and the conversation resumed.

"So Lily, are you in Gryffindor like the boys?"

"Yes Mr. Potter, we are in the same year too," she replied.

"Ah, so you had the joy of taking your OWLs this year as well. How do you think you did?"

"I'm sure I did alright. Hopefully the extra studying paid off!" Lily laughed.

James jumped in "I bet Lily gets O's in all of the subjects. She has some of the highest marks in our year!"

Lily flushed again; she really wasn't used to flattery, especially when Potter actually meant it.

"Oh, I don't know about that. Transfiguration has been pretty difficult this past year."

Without trying to sound too eager, James replied "I could always tutor you if you want? Only if you help me with potions."

"Oh, that'd be lovely!" chimed Mrs. Potter. "I always wished James would take a love to Potions like I did. Sadly he takes after his father." Mr. Potter winked back at his wife. "Are you planning on doing something in Potions after you graduate Lily?"

"Well, I've always wanted to work in medicine like my parents. I think being a Healer would be the right path for me. I've been surrounding by the medical field my entire life; it just seems comfortable yet challenging for me. My dad was a doctor and my mum was a nurse."

Mr. Potter raised an eyebrow, "what's a nurse?"

"Well, it is similar to being a medi-witch I suppose. They do the majority of the patient care while a doctor would be the equivalent of a Healer. My parents met as students working at the local hospital." The memory made Lily smile. She loved how her parents would banter back and forth about new treatments versus older ones.

James stated sincerely, "I think it is really admirable of you to continue their legacy."

Again he took her by surprise. She couldn't believe the thoughtfulness of what he just said. She mentally slapped herself. James Potter wasn't thoughtful, he was a prat. Lily gave him a quick smile and said thank you.

The conversation during dinner was light and easy. Lily couldn't believe how much fun she was having with all of them. Potter's parents reminded her a lot of hers. They had this playfulness between them. Even though both of them were nearly in their sixties, it was evident that they loved each other if not even more now than when they were James' age. She noticed how much Potter was a total cross between his parents. He had his dad's build, messy hair, and coloring. Based on the conversation he was having with his son about the best Dungbombs on the market, Lily deducted that he inherited his mischievousness from him as well. However, his eyes, smile, and kindness came from his mother.

"Wait a minute, did I just think he was kind? What is the matter with me?" Lily mused to herself. A few good deeds does not make up for years of pranks and trouble. There was something different about the James Potter that was seated across from her. With his parents he seemed more relaxed and not so bent on making a spectacle of himself. It was almost like he was a normal human being. Almost.

"Oi, what are you staring at Lily-Flower? Does James have something on his face?" commented Sirius nonchalantly.

_He_ was obviously still a royal pain in the ass; yet her fair skin gave her away.

"Um no Black, I was just going to ask him if he still plans on being an auror. You on the other hand have sauce all over your face you slob." She replied hotly.

Lily couldn't believe she had responded like that in front of Potter's parents, but Sirius deserved it! She could tell by the expression on Potter's face that he thought the same. She crossed her arms across her chest.

James was embarrassed and pissed off at his so-called best friend at that particular moment. He shot Sirius a dirty look and proceeded to reply. "Yeah, my dad inspired me to be one. It is kind of the same thing that you had with your parents. You're exposed to it so much that it becomes second nature for you to want the same thing."

Mr. Potter ruffled James' hair, "Like father, like son!"

James continued, "I'm doing an internship with the ministry this summer. Hopefully that will give me a foot in the door for the Auror training program in a year or so."

"Hey Red, aren't you doing one too this summer? Supposed to be at St. Mungo's but they're making you push paperwork at the ministry, right?" said Sirius with his mouth full of bread.

"How did you know about that?" Lily was perplexed; she never told him about that.

"Your lovely friend Marlene told me. Lovely pair of legs that girl has on her too. Maybe she'll get taller this –"

"Calm your teenage hormones Sirius, we are in fact trying to eat here," teased Mr. Potter.

"I suppose she would tell you wouldn't she? I thought the girl code would cancel out the teammate code." She scoffed. Lily reminded herself to be more careful with the information she shared with her Quidditch playing friend.

"Now, now, ginger snap, don't get testy. Just think about what a great summer you're going to have now. You and Jamsie over here can finally go on that dream date you two have been longing for!" Sirius taunted.

"Shut it you git!"

"Shut up Black!"

Both Lily and James felt the urge to hit Sirius. Yet the instigator laughed even harder when they both retorted at the same time.

Mrs. Potter tried to diffuse the situation. "Sirius, that's enough for one evening. We invite Lily to dinner and you think it's funny to harass her the whole time?! No more, understood?"

"Yes, mum…"

Mr. Potter on the other hand was desperately trying to keep a straight face. He didn't want to be the next one on the receiving line of his wife's wrath. It was incredibly obvious that his son was quite taken with this girl. He had heard him talk about her incessantly for years now and it was interesting to finally see the dynamics between them. His job required him to have a good sense about reading people. At this point it seemed like the two of them had a secret they were trying to keep from the dinner group, but what exactly was it? Charlus knew that if they had finally starting dating James would have sent his parents a letter immediately asking for advice and probably would spend the whole summer talking about it. Presently, James was trying to look calm and collected, yet she was eyeing him with an air of skepticism. It was as if she didn't know this young man that sat across from her, even though it was clear that she was more than familiar who him.

"How awful has he been at school?" Charlus thought. He had to admit, his son was a bit eccentric and a glorified prankster. Did James ever let his guard down so others besides his close group of four could see past the façade? His thoughts were interrupted by the waitress with the check. After they paid, they all made their way outside.

"Char, want to take the boys and I'll take Lily home?" asked his wife.

"Sure thing my dear! Lily, it was wonderful to finally meet you! I hope this won't be the last time! You'll have to join all of us for dinner again. We need another one to keep these two menaces in line." He gave her a quick hug.

"Thank you for dinner Mr. Potter, I had a really nice time with all of you. It was just what I needed." She stuck her hand out in front of Sirius. "Always a pleasure Black," She said stiffly.

He shook her hand with more vigor than she anticipated. "Lovely you to see you Red! Give my regards to Marlene won't you?" he winked.

Lily rolled her eyes and made her way over to James. Instead of a hand shake she surprised herself by giving him a hug. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear. She pulled away and followed his mom down the street to a spot where they could apparate.

To his father, James looked almost comical. His face was beet red and a lopsided grin was plastered on his face. "So my son, how long have you been in love with her?"


End file.
